CopyCited 105 times | Published | Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit | 2008 WL 880569
...HAVA also directs each state to determine
according to its own laws whether the information provided by the registrant “is
sufficient to meet the [federal] requirements.” Id. at § 15483(a)(5)(A)(iii).
The state statute challenged in this case, Florida Statutes § 97.053(6)
(“Subsection 6”), was enacted by the Florida legislature in 2005 and became
effective on January 1, 2006, as part of Florida’s implementation of HAVA. As
amended, Subsection 6 imposes a new verification process as a precondition of
3
voter registration for first-time registrants in Florida. See Fla. Stat. § 97.053(6).
Under Florida law, valid registration is a prerequisite to voting in elections....
...Const. art. VI, § 2 (“Every citizen of the United States who is at least eighteen
years of age and who is a permanent resident of the state, if registered as provided
by law, shall be an elector of the county where registered.”); Fla. Stat. § 97.053(2)
(“If the applicant fails to complete his or her voter registration application ....
...See Fla. Stat. §
97.041. Florida law also
requires the voter to file her registration application at least twenty-nine days
before a scheduled election, the so-called book closing date, in order to be eligible
to vote in that election. See Fla. Stat. §
97.053(3)-(4); §
97.055.
To complete a registration form, the applicant must disclose certain personal
identifying information, including the applicant’s name, home address, and date of
birth....
...ted in her application was
correct. The voter can do this either before election day, or she can go to the polls
on election day and cast a provisional ballot and then within two days bring the
proof to the Supervisor of Elections. See Fla. Stat. §
97.053(6); §
101.048
(specifying the procedure for validating a provisional ballot).
However, if the error was made by the applicant herself – either by
transposing digits in the entry of the driver’s license number or by entering a
3
Florida law requires officials to enter the information received from applicants within
thirteen days of receiving the application. Fla. Stat. §
97.053(7)....
...by filing a new application with the correct information before the book closing
date.4 See Fla. Stat. §
97.052(6) (an applicant can correct any missing information
on the registration form “up until the book closing [date] for [the] next election”);
§
97.053(6) (a provisional ballot will be counted only if the applicant can verify the
authenticity of the identification numbers “provided on the application”)....
...Subsection 6 itself states that a
voter who has failed to register due to a mismatch of the identification numbers can
cast a provisional ballot, which will be counted if the voter can verify the
information provided within two days of the election date. See Fla. Stat.
37
§ 97.053(6)....
...HAVA section 302(a) expressly states that a provisional ballot be
counted only if the voter is eligible under state law to vote in that particular
election. Registration is an eligibility requirement under the Florida constitution
and statutes. See Fla. Const. art. VI; Fla. Stat. § 97.053(2)....
...in part:
I agree with the majority that Plaintiffs have standing in this case. However,
I dissent from the majority’s determination that Plaintiffs are not entitled to a
preliminary injunction against the enforcement of Florida Statutes § 97.053(6)
(“Subsection 6”), which impermissibly disenfranchises Florida citizens.
In 2006, Florida added a provision to its voter registration process,
Subsection 6,1 that requires “matching” a voter’s driver’s license or soc...
...driver’s license number” or “the last four digits of the
applicant’s social security number”8 to the database of either the Florida
Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (“DHSMV”) or the Social
Security Administration (“SSA”). Fla. Stat. § 97.053(5)(a)–(b), (6)....
...official voter registration record of that applicant when all information necessary to establish the
applicant’s eligibility pursuant to s.
97.041 is received by a voter registration official and
verified pursuant to [Subsection 6].” Fla. Stat. §
97.053(2).
7
Section
97.041 sets forth the “qualifications to register to vote,” which include that a
person (1) must be at least eighteen years of age, (2) is a U.S....
...District Court for the Northern District of Florida had enjoined
enforcement of Subsection 6, the proposed change was not ripe for review by the U.S. Attorney
General.
54
license or social security card. Id. § 97.053(6)....
...applications.12 Subsection 6 permits voters to cast a provisional ballot which will
be counted only if applicants present evidence—their driver’s license or social
security card—which verifies the number “provided on [their] application,” Fla.
Stat. § 97.053(6) (emphasis added)....
...driver’s license or social security card. Those applicants do not have to go through the matching
process because the state provides them with a separate number. They only have to affirm that
they do not possess a driver’s license or social security number. See Fla. Stat. § 97.053(5)(a)(5).
It makes little sense to devise a registration process that deprives an individual of the right to
vote for truthfully providing her driver’s license or social security number but whose number is
not matched, while at the same t...
CopyCited 16 times | Published | District Court, S.D. Florida | 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 61070, 2006 WL 2544683
...o vote. In addition, under Florida law, voter registration forms "must be accepted in the office of any supervisor, the division [of elections], a driver license office, a voter registration agency, or an armed forces recruitment office." Fla. Stat. § 97.053(1)....
CopyCited 9 times | Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal
similar to that of Florida's. See N.C. Gen. Stat. § 97-53(13). [4] We have not overlooked the fact that
CopyCited 6 times | Published | District Court, S.D. Florida | 56 A.L.R. 6th 815, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 27361, 2008 WL 793584
...rate them from facts. The Court makes findings only of facts and disregards the lay opinions of the witnesses as to whether or not they, if ordered by this Court could eliminate the deadline for applications and their interpretations of Fla. Stat. §§
97.053,
97.055....
...Not only are application forms readily accessible through numerous channels at any time of year, they may be delivered, by mail or in person, to countless locations across the state, such as the Supervisors' offices, the Division of Elections, social service offices, public libraries, and armed forces recruitment offices. § 97.053(1), Fla. Stat. (2007). Election officials continually process applications, entering them into the statewide voter registration database within thirteen days after receipt, see id. § 97.053(7), and sending notices to applicants who submit incomplete applications within five business days, see id....
...neral election and the 2008 presidential preference primary. (Tr. 2/8:19, 40) Florida law requires election officials to enter the information on each application into the statewide voter registration database within thirteen days after receipt, see § 97.053(7), Fla. Stat. (2007). [15] For a period of five days after the book-closing deadline, election officials continue to receive applications that are treated as timely, so long as they are postmarked by the registration deadline, § 97.053(4), Fla....
CopyCited 2 times | Published | District Court, N.D. Florida | 48 A.L.R. 6th 613, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 62723, 2008 WL 2567204
...orida identification card, or a Social Security number must place their driver's license number, identification card number, or, if they have neither, the last four digits of their Social Security number on their voter registration applications. See § 97.053(5)(a)5., Fla....
...(2007); cf. 42 U.S.C. § 15483(a)(5)(A)(i). Election officials then attempt to verify the authenticity of the number provided by the applicant through computerized, and, if necessary, individual review of official state and federal databases. [1] See § 97.053(6), Fla. Stat. (2007); cf. 42 U.S.C. § 15483(a)(5)(B). Finally, Section 97.053(6), Florida Statutes ("Subsection Six"), requires the applicants whose numbers could not be verified to respond to a notice letter by showing their driver's license, identification card, or Social Security card to election officials, e...
...annot be verified and that the applicant must provide evidence to the supervisor sufficient to verify the authenticity of the applicant's driver's license number, Florida identification card number, or last four digits of the social security number. § 97.053(6), Fla....
...Applicants who do not possess a driver's license, identification card, or Social Security card are not required to obtain one in order to register to vote. Rather, the applicant must "affirm this fact in the manner prescribed in the uniform statewide voter registration application." § 97.053(5)(a)5., Fla....
...t here. [9] Under Subsection Six as amended, no applicant is required to obtain an identification card he does not have. Applicants who lack identification need only "affirm this fact" where prompted on the application in order to be registered. See § 97.053(5)(a)5.b., Fla....
...Subsection Six requires applicants who have driver's license numbers to provide their driver's license numbers. Consistent with HAVA, it resorts to the last four digits of an applicant's Social Security number only where the applicant does not have a driver's license. See 42 U.S.C. § 15483(a)(5)(A)(i); § 97.053(5)(a)5., Fla....
CopyPublished | Florida 3rd District Court of Appeal
...er
registration submitted to a third-party organization would be processed by
local and state officials, including the appropriate office in the state capital,
but it is a required part of the transaction to allow Miller to register to vote.
See § 97.053(2), Fla....
CopyPublished | District Court, S.D. Florida | 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13371, 2007 WL 603053
...when compelling state interests are shown, a minimum cutoff date for registration will be allowed.") (all emphases added). [5] Under Florida law, voter registration officials have fifteen (15) days from the date of receipt of the application to enter it into the voter registration system. Fla. Stat. § 97.053(7) (2006).
